nature had hitherto met with no response except from her
brother, perceived at once Phillis's innate superiority and clear
generous temperament. For the first time she felt feminine friendship
a possibility, and hailed it as a new-found joy. Nan testified her
pleasure on more than one occasion: jealousy never found a
resting-place in a corner of her heart.

"I am so glad, Phillis," she observed, once, "that you and Grace
Drummond like each other so much. You have never found any girl equal
to you yet; and I was always too stupid to give you what you wanted."

"Oh, Nannie, as though I would change you for a dozen Grace
Drummonds!" returned Phillis, stanch as ever to her domestic creed,
that there never was and never could be such another as Nan.

"Oh, of course we shall always be the same to each other, you and I,"
returned Nan, seriously, "we are such old comrades, Phil; but then I
have Dick, and it is only fair you should have some one too;" but she
did not understand why Phillis suddenly sighed and turned away.

An amusing little incident happened to Phillis after this, which she
greatly enjoyed. Colonel Middleton's avoidance of them had long been a
sore point with her, as it was with Dulce.

"I feel almost like that wicked Haman," she said, once, in a
serio-comic voice, "and as if he were my Mordecai. I shall never think
we have achieved perfect success until I have forced him to shake
hands with me." But Nan, who cared very little about such things, only
laughed.

On Sunday morning Colonel Middleton marched up the aisle rather more
pompously than usual, and there followed him a tall, very solemn-faced
young man, with serious eyes that reminded them of Elizabeth.

"Son Hammond," whispered Phillis, who was not always as devout as she
ought to be; and Dulce tried hard to compose her dimples.

Possibly the young officer was not as solemn as his looks, for he
certainly paid more attention to the opposite pew than he did to his
prayer-book; and as he walked home with his sister, Colonel Middleton
being just then out of earshot, he questioned her rather closely on
the subject:

"Who were those girls, Elizabeth? I mean the three who were just
opposite us with their mother. Are they visitors or residents?" Then
Elizabeth told him very briefly their name and occupation.

"Good gracious!" he returned, in a thunderstruck tone; and then all at
once he burst out laughing, as though at a good joke:

"I call that a pi